Plymouth voters approve buying old McDonald's site for public safety complex

PLYMOUTH — Voters at Town Meeting approved the purchase of land for a new new public safety complex, which town leaders hope will be home to the police and fire departments.

The voters approved the purchase of the two parcels at 291 and 295 Main St., totaling 4.19 acres, in Article 6 on the Town Warrant on March 11. Construction of the new complex will be voted on at a future Town Meeting, expected within the next four years.

“We negotiated with the owners of 291 and 295 Main St., and came to an agreement for $850,000, and we have a letter of intent signed, with a purchase-and-sales agreement after July 1,” Town Manager Scott Weden said Tuesday.

The properties are owned by two entities: JHM Plymouth, LLC, and Shiv Hospitality, LLC, through a Realtor with Coldwell Banker.

Weden said the town has had eyes on the property since 2021, and the next step is to secure a bond to purchase the property, which formerly had a McDonald’s restaurant. The new public safety building will be just a stone’s throw away from the current police station, roughly a quarter-mile away, at 334 Main St., near the Campton line.

“The hope is within four years we will have a facility for police, fire and EMS, and a community room aspect to the building, as well,” Weden said.

Weden said the town has requests for proposal for architectural and engineering services ready to go, which will be posted after the sale in July, to hire firms to design the building. The hope is the design process will take about a year, then come back to voters at Town Meeting. Weden expects this to be part of the 2029-30 budget. The project is not anticipated to increase taxes for residents.

“It’s a few years down the road, but the reason we are waiting is that we have three bonds dropping off to be paid for by the town,” Weden said. “Hopefully, we get the vote to move forward with building with a bond that won’t exceed the amount dropped off.”

Weden said the property is ideal in terms of size and location. According to information provided by the town, the location also allows for the current police and fire station properties to be returned to the tax roles, and to expand as the community grows. There will be minimal infrastructure costs, as utilities are already onsite, and no need to change traffic signals.

In 2023, the town started the Public Safety Complex Committee, carrying out spatial assessments for both the police and fire departments, conducted by the H.L. Turner Group for $4,800.

The intent of the spatial needs assessment was to review and evaluate the building space needs for “adequacy, safety, and potential growth,” according to documents on the town website. This was based on interviews with officers, firefighters, and staff in October 2023.

The study also involved soliciting input to identify drawbacks or benefits of the current sizes and uses of spaces; take inventory of existing vehicles, sizes, and clearances required for operation; and take inventory of existing equipment and document space requirements, clearances and utilities required, and operating temperature restrictions.

Since the committee was established by the selectboard, about 100 personnel hours have been logged studying the police, fire, and recreation departments in town. The police and fire stations were toured, and the committee did not believe it made financial sense to rehabilitate either station. It was also found neither property would accommodate required needs, which was also found by a previous Needs Assessment Committee. The town opted to seek a site for a new complex.

Weden said the committee worked to determine what size parcel was needed, and how big a building is needed for the next 50 years.

“We don’t want to just outgrow the building in a couple of years,” Weden said. “We decided to look for a piece of property close to [Interstate] 93, close to Tenney Mountain Highway, and the downtown.”

Weden said they found a property on Tenney Mountain Highway, and a public hearing showed voters did not want to spend $1.6 million on the parcel.

Then the town found the Main Street location, and while the owners started the negotiations at $1.2 million, Weden was able to bring that down to $850,000 on Feb. 9, based on the current assessment of the properties at $758,100.

There were two public hearings held about the property in February, which Weden said went well and showed many were in favor of the site. The vote at Town Meeting was a “large majority,” he said.

“It was a clear and decisive vote.”

The next step is to send out the request for bids, and remain open for 45 days before respondents are interviewed, to lead the architectural and engineering design process.

Fire Chief Kevin Pierce is also chair of the Public Safety Complex Committee, and he said he couldn’t be more thankful to the community for the vote.

“I would say that this is monumental for Plymouth Fire and Rescue, and the police department, organizationally,” Pierce said. “It allows us to reestablish the needs of the departments and the community.”

This was a big Town Meeting, as the town also supported the acceptance of the SAFER grant, allowing for adding four shifts of four personnel starting on July 1. This marks the first time the department has been staffed appropriately to handle its volume. The two-year union contract was also approved, as well as the replacement of the station boiler, lease payments for emergency apparatus, and the operating budget.

Pierce is the fourth fire chief to ask for the replacement of the building, and this is the first time in close to 30 years the town is making positive progress in replacing the fire station.

Not only are employees cramped, the current building was constructed more than 60 years ago, and only intended to be temporary. There are needs for changes in apparatus, but the current building’s size doesn’t allow for it. Equipment is stored in other areas around town, due to lack of space.

“We have outgrown this facility, exponentially,” Pierce said. “It affects us operationally.”

Their location is also an issue, as the current fire station is at 42 Highland St., and requires apparatus to travel through a school zone, or go through the downtown corridor. This can be an issue in town, as well as through mutual fire aid.

“The new location allows us to access the interstate easily,” Pierce said.

There have been several related votes at Town Meeting in the past, and some have missed by as little as 17 votes, losing the desired locations.

Thankfully, he said, this gets the ball rolling.

“Now we need to maintain progression with the community,” Pierce said.

Police Chief Nate Buffington said he is grateful for the residents’ support to purchase the land for a future public safety complex. He said securing the properties is an important step toward building a facility to better serve both the police and fire departments, as well as the public, for the future.

“For our department, the possibility of a new home represents an opportunity to enhance operations, improve training and efficiency, and provide a safer, more functional environment for our personnel and everyone who comes through our doors,” Buffington said. “We look forward to continuing this process with transparency and collaboration as we plan for a modern, efficient public safety building that meets the needs of our growing community.”